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Everything on Books, Be Nimble, organised by topic.
Book Reviews
- Build a Book Review Rating System You Can Explain — Build a book review rating system by defining every point on the scale, choosing three to five criteria, and stating how genre and intended audience…
- How to Compare Two Books Without Forcing a Winner — To compare two books, begin with one shared question and describe each book's purpose, audience and scope on its own terms.
- How to Write a Book Review: A Simple 5-Step Framework — To write a book review, follow five steps: read actively and take short notes, identify what the book is trying to accomplish, open with the essentials…
- How to Review a Nonfiction Book Fairly — To review a nonfiction book fairly, identify its question, central claim, intended audience and method.
Indie Publishing
- How to Choose a Trim Size for Your Book — Choose a book trim size by identifying how the book will be used, shortlisting dimensions currently supported by every intended printer, and laying out…
- Format a Manuscript for Self-Publishing — Format a self-published manuscript by treating print and ebook as separate editions.
- How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book? Real Ranges — Self-publishing a book typically costs $1,050-$3,400 when you hire professionals for the three services that matter most: copyediting ($700-$2,100), a…
- How to Beta Read a Book: Give Feedback That Helps — To beta read a book, read the complete manuscript as a member of its intended audience and record where you felt engaged, confused, unconvinced, or…
- How to Choose a Book Editor Without Buying the Wrong Edit — Choose a book editor by first defining whether the manuscript needs developmental editing, line editing, copyediting or proofreading.
- How to Self-Publish a Book: 10 Steps From Draft to Launch — To self-publish a book, finish and edit your manuscript, hire professional editing and cover design, format the interior files for ebook and print, then…
- How to Write a Book Blurb That Earns the Next Page — Write a book blurb by leading with the strongest hook, establishing the protagonist or intended reader, introducing the central conflict or problem,…
- ISBNs for Self-Published Books: Choose the Right Route — An ISBN identifies a specific book product, including its publisher or imprint, title, edition and format.
- Compare Print-on-Demand Services for an Indie Book — Compare print-on-demand services using the exact book edition and market you plan to publish.
Reading Life
- Create a Reading List That Helps You Choose — To create a reading list that helps you choose, record each title's source, your reason for wanting it, preferred format, current access, reading fit and…
- How to Read More Books: 12 Habits That Actually Stick — You read more books by making reading the easiest option in gaps you already have, not by finding new free time.
- How to Start a Book Club People Keep Attending — Start a book club by defining its loose purpose, inviting a manageable group, setting a recurring meeting time, and choosing an accessible first book with…
- How to Keep a Reading Journal You Will Reuse — To keep a reading journal you will reuse, choose the future decision it should support, then give every book the same small entry: book and edition,…